Roger Goldizen was contracted to clear the 6.6-acre tract which old timers remember as the Eustace Thacker Place.

The eyes of many have been upon the Eustace Thacker Place in Hurricane this last week because the land is being cleared. Very few know the property by that name. It has been nearly three-quarters of a century since Thacker dwelt there and tended a garden on the spot. Most identify the property as the unnamed woods between the entrance to Walmart and Joe Leadmon’s Meat Market on Hurricane Creek Road. The wooded area now being cleared consists of 6.6 acres of Thacker’s original 10.8-acre tract.

The property ceased being the Eustace Thacker Place when Ethel Thacker (Eustace’s widow) sold the 10.8-acre farm to Huntington entrepreneur R. O. Robertson, Jr., in July of 1972 for $55,000. Robertson promptly built a structure on the site of the Thacker residence which served as home to A. B. Dick, an office machine company, between 1973 and 1983 when the name was changed to Quorum Corporation. In 1996, Quorum became IKON. In 2002, Robertson sold the 2 acres upon which the office building sat to Cross of Grace Lutheran Church for $675,000.

In 1984, Robertson sold 2 acres to the rear of the office building to Harvey Ghiz. The remaining 6-plus acres was wooded and remained in Robertson’s hands until he sold the property to Buffalo FPE in 2023 for $150,000. Buffalo FPE purchased the 2 acres fronting Hurricane Creek Road from Cross of Grace Lutheran Church for $850,000 in 2021. Buffalo FPE now holds title to all of the original Thacker property except for the 2 acres owned by Ghiz.

Who is Buffalo FPE? Buffalo FPE purchased the Courts Motors property at the Hurricane I-64 Interchange from Cecil Courts in 2016 and has paid the real estate taxes on the property since 2016. The Courts property is home to Walker Chrysler Dodge. The West Virginia Secretary of State’s web page lists Buffalo FPE as a limited liability company which was organized by Joe R. Pyle of Mount Morris, Pennsylvania. Pyle is the owner of Joe R. Pyle Auction and Realty Service.

On Monday, September 8, Roger Goldizen applied to the City of Hurricane for a permit to clear brush from the property in an operation which would involve disturbance of the ground. Goldizen began clearing the land upon obtaining the permit.

Since the property, in its entirety, is located within city limits, any future development will require additional permits from the City of Hurricane. As of Tuesday, September 16, City officials have not been advised of future plans for the property.